Electric sports carmaker Tesla Motors has lost a major part of its high court libel claim against the BBC's Top Gear programme, but is still suing the corporation for malicious falsehood over an episode that showed the company's Roadster model running out of battery in a race.

Ruling at the high court in London on Wednesday, Mr Justice Tugendhat said that no Top Gear viewer would have reasonably compared the car's performance on the show's airfield track to its likely performance on a public road.

The hearing continues on other grounds, including Tesla's claim that the Top Gear presenters maliciously made five other false statements about the Roadster.

Tesla first made a complaint against the BBC in 2008, after the show was originally broadcast. The company's complaint centred on Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson, who said in the programme that the Roadster ran out of battery after 55 miles on its track – far short of the 200 miles that Tesla claimed it could achieve.

Tugendhat said: "In my judgment, the words complained of are wholly incapable of conveying any meaning at all to the effect that the claimant [Tesla] misled anyone.

"This is because there is a contrast between the style of driving and the nature of the track as compared with the conditions on a public road […] are so great that no reasonable person could understand that the performance on the [Top Gear] track is capable of a direct comparison with a public road."

The judgment was handed down verbally by Tugendhat shortly before lunchtime on Wednesday in the full-day hearing.

Tesla has accused Top Gear of using "staged" footage to create the impression that the Roadster had run out of battery. The US carmaker also complained that Top Gear characterised a blown fuse as a brake failure, and that the model became immobile as a result of overheating.

In its skeleton argument, Tesla says it has seen a "continuing impact" of the 2008 Top Gear episode on its reputation, resulting from its availability on the BBC iPlayer video-on-demand service, DVD, and syndication of the original programme to other broadcasters including the digital channel, Dave.

Tugendhat reserved judgment on Tesla's malicious falsehood claim. The judge is expected to return a verdict within weeks. The BBC contests that the entire claim should be struck out.

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